CHENNAI: Coming as a breather for Chennai residents, six out of the 15 Corporation zones now have less than 100 active cases, and five of these zones are from North Chennai areas. Two zones, Tiruvottiryur and Manali, merely have 38 and 33 active cases.
Kodambakkam zone has the highest of 191 cases, followed by Alandur with 188 while Anna Nagar and Adyar have 169 each. There are concerns over Corporation zones in southern and central Chennai still having higher cases, as most of the colleges of the city are located in these zones. Experts say unless all the students are vaccinated and Covid protocols are followed, chances of cases rising exist.
Some of the prominent colleges in these zones are Loyola College, New College, Nandanam Arts College, Vivekananda College and Kandasamy Naidu College, among others. Former Director of Public Health Dr K Kolandasamy said canteen services in colleges need to be in an open space so that clusters are prevented.
“It is at the canteens where students remove their masks to eat and social distancing too may go for a toss. This needs to be strictly monitored,” he said. It can be recalled that in 2020, there was a Covid outbreak at IIT-Madras from the canteens. It resulted in many students getting hospitalized and the college being shut for a while.
Kolandasamy said even though the government is making efforts to vaccinate all the students, it is also vital to vaccinate all the vulnerable age-group family members of the students. “Students can still be carriers even if they are not affected much when infected,” he added.
Deputy Commissioner of Health Dr Manish Narnaware said tracing of index cases and treating the patients have been the methodologies of Chennai Corporation and it would be continued even in the future as colleges open. “If we had vaccinated people at the same speed we are doing now, by September, we could have covered the entire vulnerable population,” he told Express.
100%
The health department in Ariyalur has vaccinated all 7,187 pregnant women, making the district the first in the State to achieve 100 per cent coverage in inoculating such women
15 vehicles to vaccinate the elderly
Dy Commissioner of Health Dr Manish Narnaware said 15 vehicles have been given to all Chennai zones — 1 for each zone — to vaccinate senior citizens at their houses
2,999
According to the Corporation, out of 3,328 college faculty in Chennai, 2,999 have been given the first dose and 2,014 have received the second dose as well. Out of 2,002 non-teaching staff, 1,688 have received the first dose and 759 have taken the second